Inner sole

ABSTRACT

An inner sole consisting of an upper sheet of leather having openings for air inlet and outlet, a lower sheet of leather, a rectangular elastic member having a valve at a central part of the sole and placed between said upper and lower sheets of leather along the rims of them and a piece of tape combining the three. Air is compulsorily passed through the inner sole so that the toes in a shoe are kept dry while walking and helps in preventing athlete&#39;&#39;s foot.

0 tlnited States Patent 11 1 1111 3,791,051

Kamimura 1 1 Feb. 12, 1974 1 INNER SOLE 1,926,283 9/1933 Herbert 36/441761 mm Sim Kan-1mm, 1-2908, 533i??? 3/1313 53:52.11. 1117321511Sakonyama, Akahl-ku, Yokohama, 2,495,045 1/1950 Woodbury et al. 36/44Japan 2,741,038 4/1956 1211355611 36/3 R 3,044,188 7/1962 Evangelista36/3 R [22] Ffled' June 1972 3,050,875 8/1962 Robbins 36/3 R [21] Appl.No.: 260,664

June 22, 1971 Foreign Application Priority Data Japan 46/53226 [52] US.Cl. 36/44, 36/3 B [51] A43b 13/38 [58] Field of Search 36/3 B, 3 R, 44,29

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 455,847 7/1891 Howard et al.36/3 R 1,134,389 4/1915 Lack 36/3 B 1,453,394 5/1923 Klepac 36/3 B1,525,501 2/1925 Gendron 36/3 R Primary ExaminerAlfred R. GuestAttorney, Agent, or Firm-George B. Oujevolk 5 7 ABSTRACT An inner soleconsisting of an upper sheet of leather having openings for air inletand outlet, a lower sheet of leather, a rectangular elastic memberhaving a valve at a central part of the sole and placed between saidupper and lower sheets of leather along the rims of them and a piece oftape combining the three. Air is compulsorily passed through the innersole so that the toes in a shoe are kept dry while walking and helps inpreventing athletes foot.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Patented Feb. 12, 1974 3,791,051

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INNER soLE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates toan inner sole. More particularly this invention relates to aninner sole which prevents the toes from athlete s foot by passing aircompulsorily through the toes and by keeping them dry.

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE PRIOR ART Atheletes foot or ringworm of the feet isa very unpleasant and hardly curable skin disease which is prolific inthe damp atomosphere caused by sweat from the foot in a shoe. No shoeswhich can prevent the toes from the athletes foot have been proposedexcept for sandals.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to providean inner sole which can prevent the toes from athletes foot. A furtherobject of the present invention is to provide an inner sole which cankeep the toes dry by passing air compulsorily through them in walking. Astill further object of the present invention is to provide an innersole which makes man confortable in walking.

Other objects and further advantages of the invention will become moreapparent from the following specification and claims when taken togetherwith the draw ings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an inner sole. 7

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an elastic member which is placed between anupper sheet of leather and a lower sheet of leather.

FIG. '3 is a perspective view showing the inner part of 3 5 an innersole. I

FIG. 4 is a, cross-sectional view taken along the line II II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II II in FIG. 1under the pressure of the foot.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III III in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III III in FIG. 1under the pressure of the foot.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of projecting parts of an elastic memberand a valve attached to them on an enlarged scale wherein the valve isthe same open condition as that of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of projecting parts of an elastic memberand a valve attached to one of them on an enlarged scale wherein thevalve is an open condition under the pressure of the foot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION may be covered with net-like materials. The shapesof 6 these openings may be rectangular, elliptic, and the like. Alongone side of the opening 6, there is a valve 8 which can easily opendownwards and shut again easily. As the upper sheet of leather,leather-like materials such as artificial leather may also be used.

The elastic member 3 takes the form as shown in FIG. 2. The projectingparts 4, 4, attaching a valve 5 thereto as shown in FIG. 8 or in FIG. 9,separate the vacant space into two compartments, the rear compart ment aand the front compartment b. As the elastic member, soft rubber, foamedpolystyrene and the like may be used.

The lower sheet of leather 2 may attach, if necessary, a piece ofsponge-like material 9, thereto at the front part thereof. As the lowersheet of leather, leather-like materials such as artificial leather mayalso be used.

A piece of tape 10 combines the upper sheet of leather 1, the elasticmember 3 and the lower sheet of leather 2. As the tape, such materialsas nylon, cloth and the like may be used.

In an unloaded state, both the compartment a and b are filled with air.When the upper sheet of leather 1 is pressed by the load of the foot,the air in the compartment a is compressed, which makes the valve 8 shutand the valve 5 open. The air in the compartment 0 flows to the room bthrough the opened valve 5 and then the air in the room b flows to thetoes through the openings 7. When unloaded, the upper sheet of leather1- rises to the original level by the recovering strength of the elasticmember 3. The resulting reduced pressure in the compartment a makes thevalve 5 shut and the valve 8 open and air flows through the opened valve8 to the compartment a and fills it.

By repeating loading and unloading, air flows compulsorily from theopening 6 through the compartments a and b to the openings 7. Theopenings 7 may be set between each toe, or may be set as shown in FIG.1.

When the inner sole of the present invention is placed on the insole ofa shoe and used for walking, the toes are kept dry by air streamresulted from the special operation of the inner sole as hereinbeforementioned, even when the toes remain in the shoe for a long period.Therefore, the inner sole of the present invention can not only preventthe foot from athletes foot but also be used for remedy of it. Moreover,when perfume is impregnated in the sponge-like material 9, the hygienictoes can be covered with pleasant smell. Further the elastic member 3 ofthe inner sole hardly gives fatigue to the foot in walking. Thus theinner sole of the present invention is preferable to the foot from theviewpoint of human engineering.

What is claimed is:

1. An inner sole with a shank and toe comprising in combination:

a. an upper sheet of leather (1) with an outer rim defining the shape ofa sole having one opening (6) for air inlet on the shank part and aplurality of openings (7) for air outlet on the toe part thereof;

b. a valve (8) on the shank part of said upper sheet along one side ofsaid one opening (6) which shuts on loading and opens downwards onunloading;

c. a lower sheet of leather shaped to correspond to said upper sheet;

d. an elastic member (3) of rectangular cross-section placed betweensaid upper and lower sheets of leather between the rims thereof andhaving two inwardly projecting parts (4) holding a second valve (5) atthe central part thereof, said projecting parts and second valveseparating the vacant space between said upper and lower sheets into aforward covered with net-like material.

4. The inner sole according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the upperand lower sheets of leather is artificial leather.

5. The inner sole according to claim 1, wherein the second valve isattached to both of the projecting parts.

6. The inner sole according to claim 1 wherein the second valve isattached to one of the projecting parts.

1. An inner sole with a shank and toe comprising in combination: a. anupper sheet of leather (1) with an outer rim defining the shape of asole having one opening (6) for air inlet on the shank part and aplurality of openings (7) for air outlet on the toe part thereof; b. avalve (8) on the shank part of said upper sheet along one side of saidone opening (6) which shuts on loading and opens downwards on unloading;c. a lower sheet of leather shaped to correspond to said upper sheet; d.an elastic member (3) of rectangular cross-section placed between saidupper and lower sheets of leather between the rims thereof and havingtwo inwardly projecting parts (4) holding a second valve (5) at thecentral part thereof, said projecting parts and second valve separatingthe vacant space between said upper and lower sheets into a forwardcompartment and a heel compartment, said second valve opening on loadingand shutting on unloading of said heel compartment; and, tape means (10)holding said upper and lower sheets and said elastic member at saidrims.
 2. The inner sole according to claim 1 wherein the lower sheet ofleather has a piece of sponge-like material attached thereto on the toepart thereof.
 3. The inner sole according to claim 1, wherein theopening for air inlet and the openings for air outlet are covered withnet-like material.
 4. The inner sole according to claim 1 wherein atleast one of the upper and lower sheets of leather is artificialleather.
 5. The inner sole according to claim 1, wherein the secondvalve is attached to both of the projecting parts.
 6. The inner soleaccording to claim 1 wherein the second valve is attached to one of theprojecting parts.